Lane Kiffin shares state of Ole Miss quarterback battle

Following an offseason of acquisitions, an Ole Miss quarterback battle that looked like a bit of a foregone conclusion has turned into a real source of interest.

Not only did the Rebels add Oklahoma State transfer Spencer Sanders and LSU transfer Walker Howard, the program also took in a new signee in Austin Simmons, who reclassified from the 2025 class to 2023. There’s a logjam of quarterbacks at the position now, to the point that basic questions had to be answered before fall camp.

“It came up last night and Charlie (Weis Jr.)‘s asking up here, ‘Well how do we rep them, how do we want these guys repped and everything, we’ve got a lot of guys,'” head coach Lane Kiffin said. “That’s obviously a great problem to have, so it’ll be exciting to watch them compete and develop.”

Incumbent starter Jaxson Dart is back and he’s the favorite to start at the position again. Dart finished 2022 with 2,974 yards passing with 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, while also rushing for 614 yards and a score.

But he should get a healthy push from Sanders in the Ole Miss quarterback battle.

Sanders was a multi-year starter for the Cowboys, piling up 9,553 yards passing with 67 touchdowns and 40 interceptions over the last four years. He also ran for 1,956 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Then there’s former five-star prospect Walker Howard out of LSU.

“All four guys out there, getting reps, rotating through with all the different units,” Kiffin said. “That’s definitely as deep as we have been here, to have that much competition and in a lot of different ages. All the way from a guy who’s 23 to a guy that was supposed to be a sophomore in high school.”

Realistically, reps will have to be cut down sooner than later to get the right guys the amount of quality reps they need with the starters.

For now as many as three or four guys could see time with the starters, but that will shrink over time as the Rebels get closer and closer to sifting out the Ole Miss quarterback battle. There should be a clear pecking order by the end of camp, even if the competition lasts into the season.

“It’s really neat to have all those guys together to be able to work with and to have that much talent,” Kiffin said. “And also nowadays that’s very rare to have in the quarterback room with all the guys that leave.”